• So That You Never Fall Away

    By: Kristen L. McNulty



    If there's one thing that shakes me to the core it's the memory of those who I walked with side by side in faith, only to one day see them get carried away in sin or fall away completely from that very faith.

    I wish I could say that I've never seen it happen, but I have and in every single case it didn't start overnight and there were a plethora of little warning signs. It was a slow fade at first that turned into a complete walking away in the end. Had each one of these individuals stopped themselves in the beginning I'm convinced they would have never walked away in the end. But just like a ball rolling down the hill only continues to pick up speed the further down it goes, all it takes is a few successive bad choices to lead us into farther and farther away from our faith, faster and faster with each sin.

    And the scary thing is, none of us are immune. The road to compromise is one any of us could walk down and once you've ventured far enough, compromise easily turns into complete rebellion away from God.

    1 Timothy 4:1, "Now the Holy Spirit tells us clearly that in the last times some will turn away from the true faith; they will follow deceptive spirits and teachings that come from demons."

    Then later in 1 Timothy 6:10, "For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows."

    Verses like these show us that long before our feet carry us towards a downward spiral into sin, our minds and hearts tumbled into a downward spiral. Hebrews 3:12-13 warns us, "Be careful then, dear brothers and sisters. Make sure that your own hearts are not evil and unbelieving, turning you away from the living God. You must warn each other every day, while it is still 'today', so that none of you will be deceived by sin and hardened against God."

    The fall away from faith starts with minds warped by satan's lies and hearts that have been harden against God. This is something that each and everyone of us must guard against, lest we start down the road of compromise.

    So how do you know if you've already started down that road? Ask yourself right now, "if I compare myself today to myself from a year ago, what has changed? Do I love less? Do I sin more? Do I find myself taking part in any activity that I wouldn't have then? Do I read my bible less? Do I now partake with no guilt any activity that I would have called sin before?"

    If they answer to any of those questions is yes, let this be your spiritual alarm system going off. Chances are you've being believing lies and have started down the road that is going to lead you to walk away from the faith. As Christians we should be more Christ-like today than we were a year ago and if that's not happening, somewhere along the way we've started the journey away from a life of faith and following Jesus.

    Where Satan will convince you that as a believer it's okay to put yourself in spiritual netural and coast for a little, there's no such thing in a life of faith. If you're not in drive, you're in reverse.

    And if that's you, hit the brakes today. Stop where you are right now, confess your sin to God and repent and then put that gear in drive. Allow me to close with 2 Peter 1:3-10, which outlines exactly what we as Christians need to do so that we never fall away.

    "By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence. And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world's corruption caused by human desires. In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God's promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone. The more you grow like this, the more productive and useful you will be in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But those who fail to develop in this way are shortsighted or blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their old sins. So, dear brothers and sisters, work hard to prove that you really are among those God has called and chosen. Do these things, and you will never fall away." (2 Peter 1:3-10)


    Reprint rights available on request. Email the author at kristenmcnulty@hotmail.com.

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